In-vitro antimicrobial activity of marine actinobacteria against multidrug resistance Staphylococcus aureus

Objective

To investigate the antibacterial activity of marine actinobacteria against multidrug resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA).

Methods

Fifty one actinobacterial strains were isolated from salt pans soil, costal area in Kothapattanam, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. Primary screening was done using cross-streak method against MDRSA. The bioactive compounds are extracted from efficient actinobacteria using solvent extraction. The antimicrobial activity of crude and solvent extracts was performed using Kirby-Bauer method. MIC for ethyl acetate extract was determined by modified agar well diffusion method. The potent actinobacteria are identified using Nonomura key, Shirling and Gottlieb 1966 with Bergey''s manual of determinative bacteriology.

Results

Among the fifty one isolates screened for antibacterial activity, SRB25 were found efficient against MDRSA. The ethyl acetate extracts showed high inhibition against test organism. MIC test was performed with the ethyl acetate extract against MDRSA and found to be 1 000 µg/mL. The isolated actinobacteria are identified as Streptomyces sp with the help of Nonomura key.

Conclusions

The current investigation reveals that the marine actinobacteria from salt pan environment can be able to produce new drug molecules against drug resistant microorganisms.     

多囊卵巢综合征患者使用屈螺酮与心血管事件相关性分析

本研究探讨多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）患者使用含屈螺酮的口服避孕药（OC）发生心血管事件的风险。28例PCOS（Rotterdam标准）患者,根据体重指数分成两组,其中16例体瘦者（A组）和12例体胖者（组B）,年龄在18—35岁,未使用激素治疗时间均在6个月以上。给予一种OC药治疗。观察治疗前与治疗6个月后来普汀、同型半胱氨酸、内皮素-1的水平和肱动脉血流介导的血管舒张等指标的变化。     

Drug adherence and the incidence of coronary heart disease- and stroke-specific mortality among 218,047 patients newly prescribed an antihypertensive medication: A five-year cohort study

Background

Randomized trials have shown that optimal adherence to antihypertensive agents could protect against cardiovascular diseases, but whether adherence reduces cardiovascular deaths in community settings has not been explored so fully. This study evaluates the association between antihypertensive adherence and cardiovascular (coronary heart disease and stroke) mortality in the primary care settings.

Methods

From a territory-wide database in Hong Kong, we included all patients who were prescribed their first-ever antihypertensive agents in the years between 2001 and 2005 from the public healthcare sector. All patients were followed up for five years, and assigned as having poor (Proportion of Days Covered [PDC] < 40%), intermediate (40–79%), and high (≥ 80%) adherence to antihypertensive agents. The association between antihypertensive adherence and cardiovascular mortality was evaluated by using the Cox proportional hazard models.

Results

From a total of 218,047 eligible patients, 3825 patients (1.75%) died of cardiovascular disease within five years after having received their first-ever antihypertensive agents. The proportions of patients having poor, intermediate, and high medication adherence were 32.9%, 12.1%, and 55.0%, respectively. Higher adherence levels at PDC 40%–79% (HR = 0.46, 95% C.I. 0.41–0.52, p < 0.001) and ≥ 80% (HR = 0.91, 95% C.I. 0.85–0.98, p = 0.012) were significantly less likely to be associated with mortality than the poor adherence (PDC0.040) group.

Conclusions

Better antihypertensive adherence was associated with lower cardiovascular mortality. This highlights the need to promote adherence through strategies which have been proved to be effective in clinical settings.     

“Kiss myAsthma”: Using a participatory design approach to develop a self-management app with young people with asthma

Objective: Young people with asthma often lack engagement in self-management. Smartphone apps offer an attractive, immediate method for obtaining asthma information and self-management support. In this research we developed an evidence-based asthma app tailored to young peoples needs, created using a participatory design approach to optimize user engagement. This paper describes the participatory design process. Methods: This multi-phased research included concept generation and ideation of app design by young people with asthma, and development of asthma information by the research team. Clinical review was sought regarding safety and accuracy of app content. Participants suggestions for improvement and any problems with the app were logged throughout. Our young co-designers were invited back to test a high fidelity prototype app using a “think aloud” process and completed a usability questionnaire. Results: Twenty asthma patients aged 15-24 years contributed to the initial app design. Three respiratory specialists and two pharmacists suggested minor corrections to clinical terminology in the app which were all incorporated. Nine co-designers acted as expert reviewers of the prototype app, of whom eight completed a usability questionnaire. Median usability scores (maximum score 6) indicated high satisfaction with app content, usefulness and ease of use [median item score 5.3 (range 4.7-6.0)]. All feedback was incorporated to create an updated prototype app. Conclusions: A clinically sound asthma app has been developed which is considered highly acceptable to the young co-designers. A six-week test of the engagement, acceptability, and usefulness of the app in young people not involved in the participatory design will follow.     

Isolation rearing impairs wound healing and is associated with increased locomotion and decreased immediate early gene expression in the medial prefrontal cortex of juvenile rats

In addition to its maladaptive effects on psychiatric function, psychosocial deprivation impairs recovery from physical illness. Previously, we found that psychosocial deprivation, modeled by isolation rearing, depressed immediate early gene (IEG) expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and increased locomotion in the open field test [Levine JB, Youngs RM, et al. (2007) Isolation rearing and hyperlocomotion are associated with reduced immediate early gene expression levels in the medial prefrontal cortex. Neuroscience 145(1):42-55]. In the present study, we examined whether similar changes in behavior and gene expression are associated with the maladaptive effects of psychosocial deprivation on physical injury healing. After weaning, anesthetized rats were subjected to a 20% total body surface area third degree burn injury and were subsequently either group or isolation reared. After 4 weeks of either isolation or group rearing (a period that encompasses post-wearing and early adolescence), rats were killed, and their healing and gene expression in the mPFC were assessed. Locomotion in the open field test was examined at 3 weeks post-burn injury. We found that: 1) gross wound healing was significantly impaired in isolation-reared rats compared with group-reared rats, 2) locomotion was increased and IEG expression was suppressed for isolation-reared rats during burn injury healing, 3) the decreased activity in the open field and increased IEG expression was greater for burn injury healing group-reared rats than for uninjured group-reared rats, 4) the degree of hyperactivity and IEG suppression was relatively similar between isolation-reared rats during burn injury compared with uninjured isolation-reared rats. Thus, in the mPFC, behavioral hyperactivity to novelty (the open field test) along with IEG suppression may constitute a detectable biomarker of isolation rearing during traumatic physical injury. Implications of the findings for understanding, assessing, and treating the maladaptive effects of psychosocial deprivation on physical healing during childhood are discussed.     

Cell-cell interaction modulates neuroectodermal specification of embryonic stem cells

The controlled differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells is of utmost interest to their clinical, biotechnological, and basic science use. Many investigators have combinatorially assessed the role of specific soluble factors and extracellular matrices in guiding ES cell fate, yet the interaction between neighboring cells in these heterogeneous cultures has been poorly defined due to a lack of conventional tools to specifically uncouple these variables. Herein, we explored the role of cell-cell interactions during neuroectodermal specification of ES cells using a microfabricated cell pair array. We tracked differentiation events in situ, using an ES cell line expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the regulation of the Sox1 gene promoter, an early marker of neuroectodermal germ cell commitment in the adult forebrain. We observed that a previously specified Sox1-GFP+ cell could induce the specification of an undifferentiated ES cell. This induction was modulated by the two cells being in contact and was dependent on the age of previously specified cell prior to coculture. A screen of candidate cell adhesion molecules revealed that the expression of connexin (Cx)-43 correlated with the age-dependent effect of cell contact in cell pair experiments. ES cells deficient in Cx-43 showed aberrant neuroectodermal specification and lineage commitment, highlighting the importance of gap junctional signaling in the development of this germ layer. Moreover, this study demonstrates the integration of microscale culture techniques to explore the biology of ES cells and gain insight into relevant developmental processes otherwise undefined due to bulk culture methods.